Wire belts are commonly used for conveying articles during cooling, drying, coating, cooking and many other applications. In one particular application, wire belts are used to convey food articles during cooking or processing of the food. Wire belts are particularly advantageous for food processing because they can provide an open flow through mesh, a high degree of flexibility, a sanitary construction, simple installation and maintenance, or the ability to be positively driven. The wire belt typically includes a plurality of wire links interlocked or joined together to form an endless conveyor belt. A wire belt typically requires a splice connection between the wire links of opposite ends of a wire belt to form an endless conveyor belt.
Unfortunately, known wire belts having a large percent open area are difficult to form having mesh size in the range of approximately ⅛″×⅛″ to 1″×1″. This difficulty results, in part, from the difficulty in forming the necessary bends in the wire. In the past, wire belts having a mesh size between approximately ⅛″×⅛″ to 1″×1″ have been a close mesh or weave style wire belt. The known close mesh or weave style belts include a plurality of individual wires which are woven around each other or a cross rod to form a generally flat surface.
While these close mesh or weave style belts are capable of very small mesh sizes and have a relatively high strength, they have a very low percent open area making them undesirable for many applications, e.g., applications requiring heating, cooling, airflow, and draining. Moreover, these known belts utilize a considerable amount of wire per length of wire belt. This is undesirable in heating and cooling applications because a substantial amount of energy will be wasted in heating and/or cooling the belt itself rather than the objects being transported. Because of the complex weaving and the amount of material used, the known close weave or mesh belts are also expensive and time consuming to manufacture.
Another problem with the known close mesh or weave style belts is the difficulty in cleaning the belts. In the Food Processing Industry, it is critical to properly clean and sanitize the belt in order to produce wholesome food products free from physical and/or bacterial contamination that comply with USDA & FDA regulations. Because of the small percent open area and the numerous bends and overlaps formed by the wires, food and contaminants are difficult to remove making cleaning and sterilizing extremely difficult. As a result, belts of this design are often not suited for many food applications.
Some known wire belts having a large percent open area are typically formed by a plurality of zig-zag shaped wire strands that are woven directly into the adjacent, similarly shaped wire strand. However, these belts also suffer from several problems.
These known belts with a large percent open area are not capable of mesh sizes in the range of about ⅛″×⅛″ to about 1″×1″, and are thus not suitable for transporting small products such as berries, nuts and the like. Additionally, these belts also have a relatively low strength compared to the close mesh or weave style belts, and are thus not suitable for transporting heavy objects.
Accordingly, what is needed is a belt having a large percent open area that is capable of forming a mesh size in the range of about ⅛″×⅛″ to about 1″×1″. The belt should preferably have a relatively high strength making it suitable for transporting heavy objects. Additionally, the belt should be able to be easily cleaned and sanitized, and should minimize the amount of energy wasted in heating and cooling the belt. Lastly, the belt should be inexpensive and easy to manufacture.